PotashCorp is the most important customer of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara. The rock is exported from Western Sahara by the occupying power, Morocco, in violation of international law. In this interview on Canadian Broadcast Corporation, lawyer Jeffrey Smith of WSRW explains why it is wrong.
"You should not look for legal or economic arguments to maintain what you do. It is simply wrong", stated a concerned Tasmanian teacher in a letter to the importing firm this week. This new video shows the shipment of phosphates that arrived Impact Fertilisers in Tasmania, July 2010, from occupied Western Sahara.Read more
No more Mosaic phosphate imports from Western Sahara26.08 - 2010 The Florida fertilizer company Mosaic Co explains that it does not longer carry out imports from occupied Western Sahara. The firm has no delivery contracts, nor any plans of purchasing. PCS is today the only remaining North American importer of phosphates from the occupied territory.Read more
05.08 - 2010 As long as the Moroccan government keeps denying that the resources play a central role in the conflict, and suggests that the area is empty of natural resources, it should not object to place the proceeds of those resources under UN administration, writes Western Sahara Resource Watch.
14 Saharawis injured when protesting the plunder02.08 - 2010 The Trade Union of Saharawi Workers in El Aaiún, occupied Western Sahara, started a general strike this morning, denouncing the “policy of segregation applied by Morocco” and the “plundering of Saharawi natural resources”.Read more
“Don’t try to lure BP fishermen victims to occupied land”30.07 - 2010 Louisiana fishermen, victims of the BP Gulf spill, could be moving their place of work to an occupied country, supporting an illegal and brutal regime. This might be the reality if Washington lobbyists get what they want. Press release, Western Sahara Resource Watch, 30 July 2010. Read more
During the first two weeks of July, highly educated Saharawi took to the streets in Rabat, denouncing the Moroccan plunder of Western Sahara’s natural resources and the fact that they are discriminated in the job market simply for being Saharawi. Read more
Star Canopus offloading Saharan phosphates in Hobart, Tasmania18.07 - 2010 See photographs of the vessel Star Canopus discharging phosphates from occupied Western Sahara in the port of Hobart, Tasmania, July 2010. Oddly, the ship was originally listed with a cargo of Zinc Concentrates. But that didn't appear to be the case.Read more
See this great footage of the first ever flashmob musical against the plundering of Western Sahara, in Mercadona-supermarkets across Spain. Mercadona sells canned fish originating from occupied Western Sahara, under their store brand ‘Hacendado’.
Incitec Pivot receives new shipment of Saharawi phosphate12.07 - 2010 On Saturday 10 July Star Canopus docked in Geelong with an illegal cargo of phosphate from Western Sahara on board. This is the first shipment in over a year since Incitec Pivot closed their fertiliser plant down in June 2009, due to a slump in demand for superphosphate. Read more
Valuable algae lake discovered in occupied Western Sahara10.07 - 2010 A microscopic organism, 3 billion years old, could be the latest support for Morocco’s occupation. Another life-giving natural resource is just located inside the occupied territory of Western Sahara.Read more
Nordic parliamentarians call for halt of unethical EU fisheries07.07 - 2010 32 parliamentarians from Finland, Sweden and Denmark today requested the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of their countries to prevent renewed EU fisheries in occupied Western Sahara. Press release, WSRW, 7 July 2010.Read more
WSRW requests answers from Uruguayan importers05.07 - 2010 Earlier this year, Western Sahara Resource Watch revealed that 2 Uruguayan firms appeared to have imported phosphates from occupied Western Sahara during 2009. WSRW has now contacted the 2 firms requesting a halt to the imports. Read the letters here. Read more
The organisation of exiled Sahrawis on the Canary Islands, together with WSRW, last week denounced the opening of a ferry line between the archipelago and the occupied territory. A demonstration took place outside of the offices of the shipping company, Armas.
“UN must act to stop the plundering”20.06 - 2010 “Western Sahara Resource Watch is convinced that the hardships of the Saharawi refugees will continue as long as Morocco continues to illegally profit from the occupation of its neighbouring country”, states Western Sahara Resource Watch on World Refugee Day. The organisation calls on the international community to break the cash-flow from the occupied territories to the Moroccan treasury.Read more
'Baku' repeats Colombian voyage20.06 - 2010 In April, WSRW revealed that the Turkish vessel 'MV Bakü", had carried out a shipment to Baranquilla, Colombia. Now, the vessel has done it again.Read more
Morocco occupies the major part of its neighbouring country, Western Sahara. Entering into business deals with Moroccan companies or authorities in the occupied territories gives an impression of political legitimacy to the occupation. It also gives job opportunities to Moroccan settlers and income to the Moroccan government. Western Sahara Resource Watch demands foreign companies leave Western Sahara until a solution to the conflict is found.
